For Immediate Release | September 27, 2021
Feature Stories and Interviews Available
Contact: Patti North, Executive Director, Alexandria Film Festival, pattinorth@gmail.com
Melinda Kernc, Director of Development and Marketing, Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, kernc@alexsym.org
ASO Presents Homegrown: American Stories in Music and Film ASO Presents Six Film Shorts in Partnership with Alexandria Film Festival
Alexandria, VA—In partnership with the Alexandria Film Festival, the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra (ASO) will present music of American composers on Saturday, November 6, 2021 (6:00 p.m.) at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center and Sunday, November 7, 2021 (3:00 p.m.) at the George Washington Masonic Memorial.
Saturday’s performance at Schlesinger will feature six original short films screened in tandem with the music. (Sunday’s performance at the George Washington Masonic Memorial will include the music only with no film projection.) The project, entitled Homegrown: American Stories in Music and Film, commissioned original film footage to be screened “live-to-picture” for each of the compositions on the program. The concert will conclude with Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, based on ten paintings by Viktor Hartmann depicted in the suite, inviting the listener to experience the emotion conveyed by the artist.
“This Homegrown collaboration with the Alexandria Film Festival started by a desire to perform American orchestral pieces live in concert that serve as soundtracks for newly commissioned films by American filmmakers,” says Maestro James Ross. “Usually the music is made to fit the film, but instead our six filmmakers let their creative fantasies run wild, inspired by each given composer. The variety and organic quality of the storytelling is breathtaking!”
Jennifer Higdon’s reflective Blue Cathedral is set with Michael Fallavollita’s retelling of Tale of the Kite, which garnered 25 film festival awards, including the Special Jury Award at the 2017 Alexandria Film Festival. William Grant Still’s “Manhattan Skyline” from The American Scene will come alive by film artists Jane Pittman and Annette Brieger with Black Lives Matter, which marries the vibrant history of Washington, D.C. and its U-Street corridor. Charles Tomlinson Griffes’ “Clouds” is brought to life with filmmaker Alexi Scheiber’s stop-motion animation (utilizing more than 1500 original watercolors and drawings) entitled Among the Clouds.
Aaron Copland's 1940 rendition of John Henry will be presented with Shannon Washington's "Beat the Machine." The D.C. style of dance Beat Ya Feet, along with other dance styles derived from black culture, is used to tell stories throughout history. Charles Ives’ “The Housatonic at Stockbridge” from Three Places in New England will be screened in painterly fashion with found video footage compiled by artist Tim McLoraine. Building upon themes of unfolding history and community, filmmaker Andrea Kalin set Copland’s Our Town suite to scenes of our own in Our Town: Alexandria.
“We are delighted this historic partnership is finally reaching fruition,” said Alexandria Film Festival Executive Director Patti North. “What began as a unique collaboration uniting the power of live music with visual storytelling as an integrated whole, we add the celebration of an audience being able once again to enjoy these art forms in person and in the moment.”
Attendees for Saturday’s performance are welcome to stay for an interactive talk on the stage with the filmmakers, immediately following the concert.
Alexandria Symphony Orchestra is committed to providing a safe concert environment for our patrons, musicians and staff. The concerts will be presented with no intermission. Schlesinger Concert Hall has been completely overhauled with a state-of-the-art ventilation system. Audience members, musicians, staff, and volunteers will be required to wear a mask during performances. ASO is also requiring all attendees, musicians, volunteers and staff be fully-vaccinated. ASO will communicate with ticket buyers well in advance of each performance to establish what specific safety measures will be required to attend.
Adult tickets start at $20. Military, senior, student and group discounts are also available. To order tickets and for more information, visit www.alexsym.org or call (703) 548-0885.
PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION
James Ross, Music Director Homegrown: Stories in Music and Film, a partnership with the Alexandria Film Festival
MUSSORGSKY: Pictures at an Exhibition
COPLAND: John Henry
COPLAND: Our Town
GRIFFES: “Clouds” from Roman Sketches
IVES: “The Housatonic at Stockbridge” from Three Places in New England
HIGDON: Blue Cathedral
GRANT STILL: “Manhattan Skyline” from The American Scene
Saturday, November 6, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center Sunday, November 7, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. George Washington Masonic Memorial
Tickets: Adult tickets start at $20. Student tickets $15 (with ID). Youth tickets $5 (age 18 & under) with adult purchase. Military, senior and group discounts available. Purchase at www.alexsym.org or call 703-548-0885.
Free parking provided by the ASO at both venues. The Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center is accessible by Metro bus lines 7A, 7B, 7F, 7Y, 25A, 25C and 25E, as well as DASH bus line AT6. The George Washington Masonic Memorial is accessible by the Blue and Yellow metro line (King Street station), numerous Metro, Dash and Richmond Highway Express bus lines, and the King Street Trolley in Old Town, Alexandria.
